32, Blackfoot...I know it's a really bad injury, but, as much as I don't like Kobe, I have respect for him, for his game and for his preparations. I think will is a big factor when it comes to those types of recoveries, I don't base it just on time, meaning that it's only physical thing. I'm positive Kobe will battle this, and come back as Kobe, not Jodie Meeks.

We shall see...but I don't see him being that worse, really. Especially not in a league of one Ilyasova who wasn't playing decent basketball for the 3/4 of the season.

I just don't think it's his time to go yet...though, that isn't as nearly as important as the fact that Kobe believes that to. And if there is one player I'd have to pick who wouldn't play if he isn't at his game anymore, I'd pick Kobe. I just can't see him as a role player, scoring close to 10 PPG.

And with time, I meant that people with stronger will overcome physical injuries faster than guys who just wanna sit it out.

But, we will have to wait and see. For the sake of game, not just my team here, I hope Kobe will be ready.

On the other note, how are we gonna value coaches who aren't coaching next season? It kind of doesn't make sense to look at their careers prior to this season. Then it should be the same for the players, if some player gets a season ending injury.

If JR doesn't show up in time, we WILL give him Dwight because it's his very first pick in the draft and it would be terrible to pork him over right off the bat...

BUT

Every autopick after that is going to be a punishment, not a courtesy pick. The penalty for making the rest of us wait around a full day instead of taking your turn is a lukewarm player taken above his normal spot. I've had that warning up for ample time so that EVERYONE saw it. We're drafting now, so there are 2 things to remember:

#1, you have 24 hours to make your pick. All that requires is checking the forum once per day. That's not a lot.

#2, the players to be autodrafted (after the 1st round) will be Mike Dunleavy, Andris Biedrins, Al Harrington, Anthony Tolliver, and Stephen Jackson... IN THAT ORDER.

We're not doing a big board because it means there's no penalty for missing the draft. This is an interactive experience and from the very first page, I warned that it would take some commitment.

JR's got two hourh. After that, he get's the Dwightmare, and every other pick after that will be a former Warrior scrub. And there's no shortage of those.

Curious, in one subpar season, Dwight Howard drops from possibly the 3rd overall pick all the way out to the 8th. Personally, I think PAWNO stole him that late.

Looks like the bigs are starting to fall now that the exclusive, head-above-all guards are gone. KLove and D12, easily the two best at their positions, are off the board. With Crackerz and 8th in front of me, I think I've got my dude in mind. Might be a reach to some here, but I think after last season he's affirmed himself as one of the league's absolute best at his position.

If I were a betting man, I'd peg Crackerz takes Melo next and 8th jumps for Steph Curry before anyone else can nab him. Not sure if I'd put Steph in the top 10 just yet, but I have a feeling 8th will. Which leaves me with my dude.

Also, AJ asked via PM if college or retired players were eligible for the draft. Just so we're on the same page, this is what I told him:

32 wrote:Good questions AJ:

The only players eligible are guys who played in the 2012-'13 season - unless they made an official retirement (Jason Kidd, Grant Hill). Rasheed Wallace and Tracy McGrady both played for limited spurts so they're allowed, but guys who have been out of the league longer than that (Chris Webber, Shaquille O'Neal, Reggie Miller) aren't allowed.

Gray area players like Baron Davis and Greg Oden seem okay to me, even though they technically didn't play last season.

College players are allowed if they've declared for the NBA draft, but since the goal of this game is an IMMEDIATE championship, it might not make a lot of sense to take a guy like Noel or Cody Zeller early since they likely won't be impact players out of the gate. There's no LeBron in this draft so how high you take them may be dangerous if you get a little ahead of a guy's current talent level.

I'm gonna post this information in the thread cause it seems relevant to everybody. Again, good questions bro!